Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1887-07-13
ARMY REcoLLgcrIoNs.
Interesting Snake aud bat Stories Related
by Wives OF Army Oincsrs.

by wsvs, OF Army O.ncsrL
Washington cores pendent OF the
Pittsburgh CosiBlcrei1' OI,cf,s writes Tins
wives OF regular array officials have some
curious experiences. At social gathsn-
ing not long 20 there was an interesting
comparison Jf nots5 by several OF them,
who now lool; back upon their frontier
life with something like regret One lady
said: II was in the army abont seventcen
years, moved from post TO pillar, and yet
on the whole, ] look back at il with pleas
We. We were children of nature, de-
p Hdcnt on our husbands. and ou- hus-
b rds were bravo mca doing taeir duty.
Z very loneliness brought out tine no
lest parts OF character. There was no
aristOcracy around the regular army
posts, but, on the ether haul, the incest
and kindest breeding. A very sEllon per.
son would soon Gnd out that chccrfllncSs
was wisdom la such place. / have stood
bcs.js my husband IN now quartsrA
wh ch we had jus. come 10 occupy for the
year, and have seen him stand on the little
porch AMI shoot five great rd;tlesna.Ses as
n salutc.n
''Oh, rnitlcs1aIres, " said auothsr, 'tion't
talk about them. Whom / had nv little
babv In Texas and WIS not strong enough
20 get out OF bed, heard something NOV.
Ing arou"d the fl"or Of our hut, ana put
my hand out aud touched ratiIesnake.
lie retrotteI under the bed. and the way
that thing ratified rings in my ears vet II
was no sUgnt, unconscious, nervous rat
to, but the loud watchm ans alarm OF the
reptile. which showed that no WAS mad.
There had TO lie and feel that thing un.
der the bed. You can suppose that nv
hair began TO stand on end. Ny husband
camo in, and toll him 70 kill tho snake.
he 1abbcd under the bed with his sword
In its scabbercl, and the snake ran out,
and before We could get at it it had run
down hole in ths hollow side OF the hat.
He got his saber and put IT in there, and
cot tho snake u pieco1 as IL lay in tho
bottc m Of the hole"
"Ah," sad an officer present, "the
snakcs Of T;xas beat any snakes in the
world, suppose. You $50 rattlcsnakes
on the tstsrn mountains aud on the
Ozark, bat the rIttlesnakos Of T0xAS are
the most enormous vi laius one can Soc
The very 81 hit Of them seems TO stupefy.
recollcct Oae day when 1 hal ridden
from early dawn to shutdown, and was
sore In every bone. aud the heat was like
n furnace, / came to n pl5ce where
went into bivou1c, and, ttking nv saddle
OF from the horse, put it down and
Stretched myself out with my head upon
N
noise, aud my scrg Sdut ran To mo crying:
Lieutenant, get up OF once, get up As
sprang 10 my feet / saw huge rattle
snake within foot Of my head, cooled and
ready to STRIFE. Whsn we killed the
snake we found that had put my sad lie
right over the hole which was his homo,
and he had crawled over to come in aud
20 TO bel for the night, and fading m5
there, naturally loOkel upoA me as an in.
trudcrn
"Ah," said lady prcse1t, "the best
timc 10 see rat'leslaScs is when you sit
down to dine i'm now q uartors which have
been abandoned for awhile, and look VI
ut tho ceiling and hLd couple OF them,
warmed by the fire which you have made,
ready to descend into The middle OF the
table You, OF course, spring to your
feet and tho ladies' scroum, while thuii
husbands have to improve thor apoetites
by killing the snakes as a frat course for
drnnor."
Another lady spoke up and told an Ar
kansas story. "One time" SAID she, az
accompanied my husband alone over the
Boston mountains OF Arkansas. We were
gong from Fayetteville, in the north.
western part OF that State, b tire AR
kansas river, where campai gning was tc
be done against the jayhlwkers aud
white robbers who had como out OF
Missouri, and were destroying the
homes and property of tho peo-
pie after tho war was over IL was in
August, and the heat WAS dreadful. a..
rode n Mexican pony, and my husband
rode largo Amy horse. All the ba ggage
we could carry WAS small bag. We
could not ride more than threo miles an
hour, for the horsos were II Danger OF
giving out with tho hoat. The houses iu
that region of country which were inhab
tied were exceedingly wiIs apart You
might go twenty miles before you cou ID
come TO any house.
awe finally wont 10 house mado OF
logs, with hardly any divisions in it for
sex 8 or ages. The man wal iudisposed
TO accommodate us, but my husband said
no would pay what hc charged il he would
iced tho two horses anl giv1 US a BID and
supper and lreaKhIst. Tho man ut last
rousO tod When wo cane To eat there
was nothing on the table but perfectly
Tat pork, tho mere pork itself,
without tho roliof OF n single rcd vein
through 1t. Tho broad was groom with
soda. Neither OF US could cat n m luthful.
We drank something thoy caliol coffso,
and went up stairs To bod. ThorS wore
SIX beds n tho room upstairs, for tho
house hal boon used for accommoda.
lions. We felt along in tho dark from be-
To bed AMI every ono was Gather bed in
that hot August weather. IL did no.
look much Ike sloop that night The
candle which had boon given US To go to
bod with cOnsistel OF a rag stucx in
some pork fat. Whom we lighted IL IL
was nantes. that wo should have but
two or thrca m autos To got into bed, for
II was sure u 20 out and tho night was
very dark. Tao instant wo lighted 1t
thcrc hcw down tho chimney n rerfeci
lock OF bats, flying around that room
wild, rs bats might we'll do In suoh 9
lonely locality. "FJr Gods sake, blow
out that light or tbs bats will chase us
here all night" said my husband. 50 we
had 10 put the light out aud got into the
feather beds AMI pull the covering over
our hCa Is aud hear the bats fly till morn
ing.
''When wo won't down to breakfast
there was tho same absolutely fat pork
and the same greca so la biscuit We got
our horses with the sun as high as ever
and starte | for another journey The
m1n at this house askel scventy-five
cents for our accommodations, bat nv
husband gave him two dollars. He then
petercd mp and told US where we coulc
get accommodations that NIGHT ut the
house OF aman twcnty-threo miles distant.
$50 We left, with nothing in oui
stomachs, aud with having had no slect
the previous night we rode over those
Boston mountains"